The General's Wife Wants to Leave
Chapter 91: Endearment

Chapter 91: Endearment

Joanna fixated on looking at the door handle that moved with her hands trembling, causing the dagger, which she gripped tightly, to shake as well.

Taking a few steps away to maintain her distance from the door, Joanna pointed her dagger forward as she faced the door, ready to plunge the dagger at any stranger who had forcedly entered the room.

At such a fraught moment, Joanna could not help but feel downhearted, as peacefulness seemed to be unwilling to stick around her lately.

There was no one day she did not feel worried and anxious since she had the dream that night. Every passing day, the intensity of worry and anxiety felt like it was increasing, to the point where her life was on the edge, just like the previous day when she was in the forest, and even at this present moment.

However, even though she knew one of the factors that made her life lose peacefulness, that factor had also become the one who saved her life from the threats that she had faced so far.

So what about this time? Would he come to save her life, just like how he suddenly appeared before her in the forest? Joanna wondered if she had to fight by herself this time, as she did not know where he was or when he would return to the room.

"Open the door, Joanna."

Upon hearing the gentle voice that she recognized coming from the other side of the door, Joanna took a deep breath of relief. Relaxing her posture, she then took steps forward toward the door. But when she was about to place her hand on the door handle, she halted and took two steps backward, distancing herself from the door again.

What if it was the personated voice of the General? What if it was actually someone who wanted to capture her? Joanna shuddered at the possibility. She once again gripped the dagger tightly and pointed it forward, taking two more steps backwards.

"It is me, Joanna. Open the door," came the same voice again, following the sound of three soft knocks on the door.

But the door remained closed as Joanna was standing still without making any movement, as if her feet were glued to the floorboard. She was unwaveringly staring straight toward the door with her dagger instead.

"Are you already asleep, my dear stubborn wife?" And in a fleeting second after the words were perceived in her ears, Joanna let out a breath of relief.

Lowering her hands to her sides, Joanna’s breath went quicker, but it was not a response of fear or worry. It was an expression of relief—an expression that the heavy loads had been lifted from her body.

The lump that made her unable to breathe due to the fear that enveloped her disappeared, as if it had evaporated from her throat, following the fear that was now substituted with relief.

Joanna blinked her eyes quickly several times, directing her eyes to look up but at no specific object, as it was an action to hold back the tears that threatened to escape from her eyes.

One of her hands gripped the dagger, and the other gripped her robe that she wore outside her nightgown. She needed something to hold on to to calm her nerves, as both of her hands were shaking more intensely than when she was in a tense state.

She could not lie but admit that she was really relieved at the moment once she heard the endearment directed solely at her coming from outside the door.

She had never liked the way he used that endearment for her. From the first time she heard that from him, she wanted to ask him to stop saying that. But she did not do that, as she knew it would result in nothing, just like how he still appeared even after she asked him to leave.

The endearment would still be delivered from his lips, to his heart’s content.

However, she was currently grateful that it was useful to make her recognize who called her. She was sure that no one knew about that endearment, if not both of them, as she noticed that he frequently used that endearment to her when they were only the two of them.

If others happened to eavesdrop on their conversation, the tone he used to utter that endearment could not be mimicked. She was sure of that.

Bringing her gaze down at the closed door, a teardrop rolled down her cheek as it failed to be held, no matter how much she tried to hold back.

She was so scared. Since the unforeseen incidents she faced in the forest, when she hid behind the large old tree under the dim surroundings and eerie atmosphere alone, with no one she knew around her, she felt like she was suffocated, with no air filling her lungs.

She just acted to be brave, pushing herself to stand firmly on her ground to face the threat with her head up.

But now, when the same terrifying occurrence reappeared, yet she was still safe and alive, she felt so relieved.

"Are you fine, Joanna?" The voice from the other side of the door sounded urgent now, not as relaxed as before.

Three quick knocks were heard again, but this time they sounded more resonated as they were formed not by knuckles but by the side of the clenched fist.

Wiping the tears away using the sleeves of her robe, Joanna blinked several times as if trying to remove the proof that she had cried, attempting to hide her weakness.

With a deep breath having been taken, she then hurriedly unlocked and pulled the door open before the General’s voice got louder, which would only disturb the rest of the people in the orphanage.

"Are you okay?" It was the words she heard from her so-called husband, whose brows knitted once the door opened.

Noticing Joanna’s bloodshot eyes, Canillas frowned more. As Joanna stepped aside to give him a way inside the room with her head lowered, he entered the room and locked the door behind him.

Canillas searched for her face to make sure that his eyes were still in good condition with good sight, but Joanna avoided him, hiding her face by moving her head in the opposite direction of where his eyes chased after her.